Surface Pro 4 - I5 Or I7 ?


lbuttery
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I'm planning on getting a SP 4 with i5 and 4 GB ram

 

I don't need to run Chief on it and will probably be using it for more mundane software

like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Family Tree Maker

 

surfing the internet - rarely playing youtube or other videos

 

but just in case I need to someday - can i5 run Chief X8 ?

 

going from i5 to i7 is a big leap in $$

 

I have it but prefer not to spend it

 

Lew

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About the only time you would notice a difference would be in Raytracing and some gaming. Even here it would probably not be more than a 10-15% improvement.

 

Graham

 

I think this is about right.  Performance isn't all that different.  The bigger issue in my mind is newer technology vs. older technology.  I think the i5 processor will start having compatibility issues sooner and will become obsolete sooner.  This has been my driving factor when purchasing new computers as of late.  

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I think this is about right.  Performance isn't all that different.  The bigger issue in my mind is newer technology vs. older technology.  I think the i5 processor will start having compatibility issues sooner and will become obsolete sooner.  This has been my driving factor when purchasing new computers as of late.  

 

Both the I5 and the I7 in the Surface Pro 4 are the same 6th generation chip. Just wondering why the I7 would be any more compatible.

 

Graham

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Both the I5 and the I7 in the Surface Pro 4 are the same 6th generation chip. Just wondering why the I7 would be any more compatible.

 

Graham

 

It might not be. I don't know.  I was just sharing my logic.  i7 is just newer technology so it stands to reason that it will last a little longer. 

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It might not be. I don't know.  I was just sharing my logic.  i7 is just newer technology so it stands to reason that it will last a little longer. 

 

From a speed perspective the I7 may provide a bit longer user satisfaction; as it is often the case that when you get a faster processor you just naturally gravitate to doing more complex things. I found this to be the case with Raytracing, prior to my recent upgrade I minimized my Raytracing as things were just not fast enough for complex lighting scenes. Now that my system is much faster (lower Raytrace times) I'm exploring and enjoying the benefits of having much greater lighting complexity in my scenes.

 

Graham

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Both the I5 and the I7 in the Surface Pro 4 are the same 6th generation chip. Just wondering why the I7 would be any more compatible.

 

Graham

 

Michael:

 

I think the i3, i5, i7 cpu's were released at the same time

they just offer various levels of capabilities...

 

I've never really studied this much until now.  It looks like you are more or less correct though.  The i7 offers more in the way of technologically advanced features, however its not necessarily newer tech.  I stand corrected.

 

I would still probably go for a newer model and the i7 if your budget allows.  More and more software is requiring and/or utilizing more and more of the advanced features (multi core, hyper threading, and other techie jargon.) 

 

All that being said, my desktop is an i5 going on 6 years old.  I just recently installed an SSD to replace the HD and my machine seems to be running better than ever with no signs of slowing down.

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I reasoned the same way Lew, and 8GB memory makes a much bigger difference than i7. You will not notice a difference unless rendering. Where it may matter though is battery consumption and the i7 uses more power.

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